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1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of landscape barriers, and particularly to the design of flexible landscape edging, and more particularly to the design of flexible landscape edging utilizing tapered stakes for attachment to the soil in which the tapered stakes are removably attached to the flexible strip portion of the edging.
2. Description of the Related Art
This invention relates to the problem of segregating an area of a garden or landscape scheme from a dissimilar neighboring landscape. In particular, the invention also relates to the problems that arise when flexible edging materials are used which require stakes for attachment of the edging to the soil. More particularly, this invention addresses the problem of manufacturing and delivering to the customer flexible landscape edging that requires stakes for attachment to the soil. There are numerous domestic and commercial applications in which it is desirable to separate dissimilar forms of vegetation, or landscape schemes. Of the various applications, there are numerous reasons for the need to separate landscape schemes, including aesthetics, incompatibility with neighboring vegetation, and differences in climatic requirements.
There are a number of well-known landscape barrier systems currently available, including wooden logs, flexible metal strips, flexible plastic strips, clay forms, stone, and brick. All of these systems are known to satisfactorily segregate the landscape schemes with certain differences noted in their overall performances.
Of all of the landscape barrier systems commercially available, flexible strips made of materials such as metal and plastic are among the most popular due to their flexible design options, ease of installation, and low cost. These systems allow for end-to-end series attachment of like sections of the system. This permits the construction of a continuous and uninterrupted landscape barrier of any length desired. The systems can be used to block the growth of roots between vegetation and incompatible neighboring vegetation, or between vegetation and a non-living landscape scheme. For this application, it is advisable to place the edging system low into the soil to block the growth of roots across the edging line. The systems can also be used to decoratively segregate dissimilar landscape schemes where root blocking is not the objective. In these instances, it is not necessary to place the edging as deeply into the soil. In either case, it is advantageous to attach the edging system to the soil with tapered stakes. The tapered stakes are positioned intermittently along the length of the flexible strip, and at its end to lock a first length of flexible strip to a second length of flexible strip. To keep the stakes from bending, they are made of a metal gage that is thicker than that of the edging portion.
A primary disadvantage of the existing systems is the difficulty of manufacturing the flexible strips separately from the tapered stakes. It requires substantial time, effort, and expense to punch the tapered stakes separately, wasting raw materials and tooling, and resulting in the generation of unnecessary material waste. An additional disadvantage of the existing systems is the difficulty of painting the flexible strips separately from the tapered stakes. It requires substantial time, effort, and expense to paint the tapered stakes separately, wasting paint and resulting in the generation of unnecessary material waste associated with the painting process. An additional disadvantage of the existing systems is the difficulty of packaging the flexible strips separately from the tapered stakes. This again requires substantial time, effort, and expense to package the tapered stakes separately, and results in the generation of unnecessary material waste. An additional disadvantage is that since the tapered stakes are shipped as a required accessory at no extra charge, they are not bar coded or entered into store inventories. For the store selling the stakes, this results in a serious tracking problem. An additional disadvantage of the existing systems is encountered by the landscaper who desires to install the system and must pick up the tapered stakes separately. This requires that the landscaper and/or the retail representative calculate the number of stakes required. Often the customer will leave the store with the incorrect number of stakes to complete the installation. As a result, customers often will have to return to the store to get more stakes, or they will take too many, leaving the store with insufficient inventory for the remaining stock of flexible strip portions. An additional disadvantage of the existing systems is that manufacturers are required to over-ship an excess quantity of stakes to correct for improper distributions of the inventory, incurring all of the related cost to manufacture, paint, package, and ship these units. An additional disadvantage of the existing systems is that the shipper, retailer, and purchaser have multiple items of multiple sizes to carry, handle, and store. An additional disadvantage of the existing systems is that the thicker stakes require inventory of a separate material thickness, and are heavier, and therefore more costly to ship. An additional disadvantage of the existing systems is that the stake pocket openings must be slightly larger than the thicker stakes, within a relatively small tolerance range so that the stakes will fit into the pockets without being too loose.
The past attempts to solve this problem have been to charge extra money for the stakes. This helps the manufacturer cover his costs, resulting in a higher cost to the consumer, but does not alleviate any of the issues of resource waste detailed in the paragraph above.
A primary advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the need to manufacture the flexible strip portions of the system separately from the tapered stakes, thus saving substantial time, effort, raw materials, waste generation and related expenses. An additional advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the need to paint the flexible strips separately from painting the tapered stakes, thus saving substantial time, effort, raw materials, waste generation and related expenses associated with a separate painting process. An additional advantage of the present invention is that it eliminates the need to package and ship the flexible strips separately from the tapered stakes, thus saving substantial time, effort, raw materials, waste generation and related expenses associated with separate packaging and shipping processes. An additional advantage of the present invention is that the tapered stakes are shipped attached to the flexible strip portion, thus eliminating a need to separately inventory and account for the number of stakes at the retail store. An additional advantage of the present invention is that the landscaper who desires to install the system does not have to be concerned about picking up the right quantity of tapered stakes. An additional advantage of the present invention is that manufacturers are not required to over-ship any quantity of stakes to correct improper distributions of the inventory, thus reducing all of the costs associated with manufacturing, painting, packaging, and shipping the surplus inventory of stakes. An additional advantage of the present invention is that the shipper, retailer, and purchaser have fewer items of a single size to carry, handle, and store, which saves space on trucks and store displays. An additional advantage of the present invention is that the stakes can be made of a thinner material, and of the same material as the edging portion. This eliminates the need for a separate raw material inventory of a separate material thickness, and saves money in shipping costs. An additional advantage of the present invention is that the stake pocket openings can be smaller than the stakes, have a relatively large tolerance range, and allow for an interference fit of the stakes within the stake pockets.
Other advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following descriptions, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein, by way of illustration and example, an embodiment of the present invention is disclosed.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a landscape edging system is disclosed having an edging portion, a plurality of stakes removably attached to the edging portion, and a plurality of notch-tab configurations located on the edging portion. Each notch-tab is capable of receiving a stake. In another preferred embodiment, each stake has at least one lengthwise stiffening rib. In another preferred embodiment, removal of the attached stakes leaves a first extension on one end of the edging portion, diagonally opposite and matching to a second extension on the opposite end of the edging portion. This permits construction of a continuous edging structure by end-to-end interlocking connection of edging pieces. In another preferred embodiment, primary tabs removably connect the stakes to the edging portion. In another preferred embodiment, secondary tabs removably connect the stakes to each other.